Mercer Manor: The Big Reveal!

Hello, loyal followers (a.k.a family members)!

I hope you are all having a wonderful week thus far. I know I am!

I'm finally packing everything up in R.L.! We're moving back to central Texas early next week.

Woo-hoo!! Happy dance!

I really have enjoyed our time out here. It's been good for our first year of marriage & a great opportunity for Tyler. And we have met some of the nicest people. Ever.

(We'll miss you, Washams!!)

So, needless to say, I've been pretty busy. Sorry for the delay.

But the day has come for you to find out what in the world the mystery piece is.

Here's the mystery photo one more time...

Drum-roll please......

It's a luggage stand!

When I first laid eyes on her, I knew I had to have her! We were meant to be.

When I got her home, she was pretty dusty. So, I wiped her down & made that wood shine!

Then I took out all of the staples that held the straps on.

It took all of 2 minutes.

Then, I headed outside to give her a new look...

First, I sprayed 2 coats of primer.

She was thirsty!!

The wood grain just kept coming through, so I grabbed a can of white paint & brushed on a couple of layers. It worked!

After it dried I just sprayed a few coats of white paint to make the finish smooth.

I used webbing for the straps. It's durable, substantial & cheap.

The only thing I didn't like was the red strips.

Enter the green ribbon!

Using invisible thread, I sewed along one edge & then sewed the other side, so that it won't come off easily.

Splendiferous.

Using the old straps, I measured out three new straps with about an 1 in. extra (so I could fold over the edges so that they wouldn't unravel).

Once they were measured & cut, I simply stapled them onto the stand!

Easy as pie.

(Yes, I realize I didn't sew ribbon on the back side, but I figured it wouldn't show much anyways... and my time is better spent somewhere else... such as packing. Ugh.)

Now, for some after pics!